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Pineapple Army: M-1910 Belts, Bayonets and Colts - 1st Infantry Fort Shafter 1914


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Salvage Sailor

Aloha Everyone,

 

Here's another unit photograph from my Pineapple Army archive - US 1st Infantry Regiment, Guarding the interned Germans at Fort Shafter, T.H.

 

Fort Shafter Guard 001b.jpg

 

Fort Shafter Guard 003a.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

Some great details in this photo - Revolver belts with US buckles - The 1st Infantry was stationed on Oahu during WWI before the formation of the Hawaiian Division

 

Fort Shafter Guard 008a.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

Service Revolvers and short batons - I believe these are Colt .38 M1903 Revolvers

 

Fort Shafter Guard 002a.jpg

 

Fort Shafter Guard 007a.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

Corporals of the Guard - note the long bayonet attached to the belt

 

Fort Shafter Guard 004a.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

Nice shot of the US revolver rig used by the Guard detachment 1914-1918

 

Fort Shafter Guard 009a.jpg

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Salvage Sailor

Just went through the entire forum (again) searching for other examples of these belts and cartridge pouches. Anyone have a positive ID on them?

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I am pretty sure that is the web 'garrison belt' adopted in 1912. The high collar uniforms would help date the photo.

 

G

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Salvage Sailor

Thanks Gil,

 

The photo was taken in 1914 when the 1st Infantry Regiment was assigned to Fort Shafter, T.H. I'm fairly certain that the revolvers are M1903's and the holsters are M1909's which makes sense as they were previously posted to the Philippines.

 

Eric Queen sent me a photo link for the belt which identifies it as a "US M-1910 Mills Belt with Pouches". Is this the same no grommet web belt as the 1912 'garrison belt' ?

 

http://www.jjmilitaryantiques.com/Home.aspx/catdet/12158?nm=US%20M-1910%20Mills%20Belt%20W/%20Ammo%20Pouches%20&category=Group#.WH_r-RsrKUl

 

The photo below also shows the hanger for the bayonet as worn in the original photo of the guards.

 

121583.JPG

 

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Probably the last truly handsome US military belt, this series of belts is described in the "Infantry Equipment Model of 1910," adopted in 1912, so the official nomenclature is; Garrison Belt, Model of 1910.

post-594-0-61840800-1484784586.jpg

Enlisted versions of the belt have "U.S." on the tongue portion of the buckle and a plain wreath. Officer versions have a national shield, spread eagle in the tongue portion and a wreath of laurel leaves in the wreath portion.

Listed in the regulations, there are several variations of wear for the belt:

post-594-0-41980200-1484784793_thumb.jpg

- With two cartridge pouches and slide -- Enlisted Men on garrison duty

- With two cartridge pouches -- Mounted Orderlies, Mounted Scouts, and Members of Machine Gun Platoons

- Belt only -- Members of Bands, Trumpeter Sergeants, and Musicians

post-594-0-38292600-1484784953_thumb.jpg

- Enlisted Belt with saber hangar and chape -- Staff NCOs and First Sergeants

Officers generally wore their belts with saber hangers, as shown above, and other M1910 items such as Colt M1911 magazine pouches. Occasionally, holsters are seen as well.

There are also known bets with "H" in the tongue portion of the belt for Headquarters troops, and P.C. for Philippine Constabulary. VMI also purchased a version of this belt from Mills for its cadets.

The M1910 series of garrison belts continued to be worn well into the occupation of Germany period.

The earliest belts were pea green with rimless eagle snaps on the cartridge pouches. Some early enlisted belts also have a slightly more rounded wreath portion of the buckle--almost indistinguishable unless you compare an early buckle side by side with a later one.

On the earliest officer buckles, the eagle and wreath are fastened to the buckle parts with pins that are peened down to hold the device fast. The earliest wreaths were struck from the same die as the wreath for M1851, Civil War era, officer belt plates. Later production of officer plates had the eagle and a slightly different wreath braised onto the buckle tongue and wreath.

Mid-production belts have rimmed eagle snaps on the cartridge pouches and beginning around 1912-15 shifted from pea green to various shades of khaki.

The last production by Mills in 1917 have lift-the-dot fasteners on the cartridge pouches and the last belts are uniformly khaki in color.

There was apparently wartime specification for a garrison belt that dropped the tongue and wreath buckle for a standard M1910 "T" buckle, different means of adjustment, and allowed the pouches to be sewn instead of woven. I have seen this referred to as a Garrison Belt Model of 1918.

In 1915, the Army purchased leather garrison belt pouches for units still using the M1905 leather gear to approximate the configuration of the M1910 series of belts.

Chris

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  • 4 years later...
Salvage Sailor

M-1910 duty belts and revolvers, 1st US Infantry Regiment in tropical uniforms, Hawaiian Department

 

010a.jpg

 

010b.jpg

 

1st US Infantry Regiment soldiers guarding a recently arrived yet not installed coast artillery piece. at Honolulu Harbor

 

010c.jpg

 

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Salvage Sailor

Another interwar unit seldom seen in the Hawaiian Territory

 

25th Infantry Regiment Schofield Barracks, T.H. 1914 016.png

 

US 25th Infantry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers) wearing M-1910 duty belts, Schofield Barracks, T.H. 1914

 

25th Infantry Regiment Schofield Barracks, T.H. 1914 019.png

 

They were posted to the Hawaiian Department for WWI garrison duty after their service in the Philippines and "The Big Burn" of 1910

 

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